Op-eds

By Dr. Hal M. Lewis (reprinted with permission of the author, this article first appeared on www.ejewishphilanthropy.com) | August 21, 2013

Despite their portrayal in the media, the recent spate of sexually charged salacious episodes has less to do with lasciviousness and more do to with abuse of power. Prurient as they appear on the surface these incidents, starring an assortment of politicos, corporate executives, sports heroes, and religious officiants, should not be dismissed as the work of sexually

More than 100,000 people have died in the Syrian conflict and violence has flared again in Iraq, with over 1,000 killed there in July alone, many at the hands of al Qaeda. Tensions over Iran’s disputed nuclear program have also

www.thetower.org.—[Mudar is an Arab who believes there cannot be peace without the refugees’ right of return.] He is trapped in a psychological construct essential to his identity as a Palestinian—a collectivist identity that dominates the Palestinian mainstream.

One of the more tragic aspects of a collectivist identity is that it stifles those aspects of

Global, nonspecific threats such as those that prompted recent U.S. embassy closures and travel warnings have rarely proved credible. These precautionary measures appear to be the result of two separate threats, one attack against an unspecified U.S. embassy and

While the Middle East combusts, threatening vital U.S. interests, the U.S. attempts to clip Israel’s wings — the only reliable, predictable, stable, effective, democratic and unabashedly pro-U.S. firefighter in the region.

Western policy-makers and public-opinion molders welcomed the 2011 riots on the Arab street as an “Arab Spring,” a people’s

With large families, a deep love of Israel and the Jewish people,simultaneous dedication to our faith and engagement with the broader world, dietary restrictions and modest dress, and being misunderstood (even by their coreligionists), Orthodox Jews surprisingly have much in common with one of the fastest growing religions in the United States - the Church of Latter

By Jonathan Rosenblum (reprinted with permission from Jewish Media Resources and the author) | July 25, 2013

I pray that the above headline will supplant “Dewey DefeatsTruman” as the classic illustration of the dangers of prediction. (I’m writing before TishaB’Av.) But I’m pretty sure it won’t. Not after watching footage of police rescuing a haredi man who made the mistake of wandering in his IDF uniform into Mea Shearim on the way to visit relatives. He

I could not believe my eyes. I was a young prosecutor handling night court arraignments. Basically, I was formally accusing each defendant of a crime and then asking for bail. The courtroom that night was packed with Hasidim, each one trying to get my attention. And, then, I found out why. Next up? A 23-year-old yeshiva student accused of sexually abusing his 10-year-

On July 7, 2013 Rosh Hodesh Av, I witnessed the police stand idly by while ultra-Orthodox (haredi) extremists verbally and physically abused women. In the days that followed I read as blog posts ran all over the internet blaming the scene on Women of the Wall for sensationalism and provocation. These types of articles blaming women of one side or another

Arab Christian residents of Nazareth who proudly serve in the Israeli army and encourage their children to do the same are coming under increasing attack, and Israel is starting to take notice and come to their aid.

For a number of years now, a group of Nazareth Christians who are officers in the Israeli army have been actively recruiting young local Arabs to

Egyptian military commanders, having learned the lessons of the 2011 revolution, were careful during the revolution of 2013 not to place themselves at the forefront, but to promote civilian figures acceptable to the public to lead during the transition period. The army and security forces will now have to deal with suppressing opposition by Muslim Brotherhood